| Concerts for the People of Kampuchea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Live album by Various Artists | |
| Released | 30 March 1981 (1981-03-30) |
| Recorded | 26–29 December 1979 |
| Venue | Hammersmith Odeon, London |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 79:30 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Producer | Chris Thomas |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea is a double album credited to Various Artists and released in March 1981.[3] It contains live performances byWings,the Who,Queen,Elvis Costello,Pretenders,the Clash,the Specials and other artists from theConcerts for the People of Kampuchea, held at London'sHammersmith Odeon in December 1979 to raise money for the victims of war-tornCambodia. The event was organised byPaul McCartney andKurt Waldheim.
The album starts with four songs from the Who (culled from a 3-hour set list) and finishes with three songs from Wings and three from the all-star line-up calledRockestra. A selection of the best performances from the concerts was compiled and released as a film,Concert for Kampuchea.
Rockestra was aPaul McCartney-ledsupergroup of at least thirty English rockers. The credited list appears at the bottom of the back cover of the LP. The name was first given to an assemblage of famous rock stars that were brought together by McCartney for the final Wings album, 1979'sBack to the Egg. The supergroup – which consisted ofWings,John Paul Jones andJohn Bonham ofLed Zeppelin,David Gilmour fromPink Floyd,Ronnie Lane ofthe Faces,Kenney Jones andPete Townshend ofthe Who, andHank Marvin ofthe Shadows – recorded two McCartney compositions, the instrumental "Rockestra Theme" and "So Glad to See You Here".
Then, McCartney andKurt Waldheim re-assembled Rockestra fora series of benefit concerts for the people ofCambodia (also known as Kampuchea), suffering from the reign ofPol Pot. This time, Rockestra consisted of, among others,Wings, John Paul Jones, Bonham,Robert Plant,Rockpile,James Honeyman-Scott and Townshend. Hank Marvin was not available and Gilmour for tax reasons had to decline, as he was with the rest of Pink Floyd in Los Angeles, California, where they were in the midst of rehearsing for an upcoming concert tour for the just released Pink Floyd albumThe Wall.
Despite the all-star lineup and charting within the Top 40, it remains one of McCartney's few projects to never receive a remaster or aCD release.
Album
| Chart (1981) | Position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard 200[4] | 36 |
Album track
| Year | Title | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Little Sister | USBillboardTop Tracks | 8 |
